Agitator and fan drive mechanism for vacuum cleaners



D. H. REEVES June 26, 1951 AGITATOR AND FAN DRIVE MECHANISM FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Filed Nov. 20, 1944 AGITATOR AGITATOR MOTOR RESERVOIR INVENTOR.

I I 63 62 M 41 any. .2

Patented June 26, 1951 AGITATOR AND FAN DRIVE MECHANISM FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Donald H. Reeves, Dayton, Ohio. assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application November 20, 1944 Serial No. 564,305

a 10 Claims. (Cl. 15-377) This invention relates to a domestic appliance and more particularly to a vacuum cleaner.

One object of this invention is to provide a more compact and quiet vacuum cleaner having improved cleaning ability.

Another object of this invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner in which a small high speed motor is horizontally disposed within the floor nozzle for driving a large slow speed fan.

nozzle housing is reduced.

Further. objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the hydraulic circuit for the fluid drive mechanism; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a vacuum cleaner showing the general arrangement of the various parts.

Referring now to the diagrammatic disclosure in Fig. L'reference numerals l and I2 designate the fan and motor, respectively, which are used for producing the suction. As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the fan shaft I4 is arranged vertically within the floor nozzle housing it Another object of this invention is to provide whereas the motor i2 is arranged so as to have an improved vacuum cleaner arrangement, in its shaft horizontally disposed within the houswhich the motor is operated at one speed and ing it. By providing suitable speed reducing in which the fan may'be operated at either of means between the motor and the fan, a small two relatively lower speeds. motor may be used for driving a large fan. The

More particularly, it is an object of this inmotor 12 preferably operates at 10,000 to 14,000 vention to provide a vacuum cleaner in which R. P. M. and drive a pair of conventional gear these speeds are made possible by a hydraulic pumps l8 and which supply hydraulic fluid drive for transmitting power from the motor to under pressure to the hydraulic motors 22 and the driven elements. 24 respectively. The hydraulic motor 22 is ar- Still another object of this invention is to pro- 20 ranged to drive the four-brush agitator 26 at vide an improved drive for the agitator which slow speed and the hydraulic motor. 24 is likeeliminates the need for a belt and allows a slower wise arranged to drive the fan l0 at a slow speed of rotation of the agitator. speed. The fluid pumped by the pump 20 is de- A further object of this invention is to prolivered to the motor 24 through the line 20 vide means for operating the fan at an increased whereas the fluid from the pump is is delivered speed during ofi-the-fioor cleaning when the to the motor 22 through the line 30. Reference agitator is not in operation and when increased numeral 32 designates a conventional reservoir fan suction is needed to overcome the friction of into which the fluid returning from the motors the hose. 7 22 and 24 is returned. Reference numeral ll Another object of this invention is to provide 3Q designates the fluid line leading from the resera vacuum cleaner with improved automatic voir 32 to the inlets of the pumps l8 and 20 as means for changing-over from on the floor cleanshown. Y ing to ofi-the-floor cleaning. Inasmuch as there are times when it is not The desirability of providing a vacuum cleaner desired to operate the agitator 26, I have prowith a long nozzle which will go under low fur- 35 vided an interlocking arrangement whereby the niture has long been recognized and attempts fluid normally supplied to the motor 22 may be have been made to improve upon the convenadded to the fluid supplied to the motor 24 when tional vacuum cleaners in various ways, such as, the agitator 25 is not in operation so as to inby mounting the fan and the motor on the handle crease the speed of the fan I0. Thi interlocking but in so doing other undesirable features have 40 means comprises a 3-way control valve '36 and a been introduced, such as, an unbalanced handle line 38 whereby the fluid leaving the pump l8 and a reduced ba capacity whereas it is an may be directed either to the motor 22 or the object of this invention to actually increase the motor 24 merely by operation of the valve 30. bag capacity and improve the balance of the It is generally recognized that when a cleaner handle at the same time that the height of the 5 is used for on-the-floor cleaning purposes, it is not as important to have a high suction as when the cleaner is used with a hose attachment for off -the-floor cleaning purposes. By virtue of the fluid circuit described hereinabove, it is possible to operate the fan at a higher speed for off-the-floor cleaning purposes by adding to the fluid flowing to the fan motor 2| that fluid which would otherwise be used for operating the, agitator 26. Another important advantage of the above described drive is that it eliminates the cleaning under furniture and the like.

3 need for the usual belt which is conventionally required for transmitting power from the motor to the agitator and thereby eliminates the vacant space in the center of the agitator otherwise taken-up by the belt pulley.

Asshown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, it is possible to arrange the parts within the nozzle so as to provide a very low nozzle which facilitates I is mounted so as to operate within a horizontally disposed shroud 40 arranged as shown.

The fan Air enters the shroud 48 through the bottom inlet 42. Whenever the cleaner is used for cleaning carpets and the like, air enters through the usual floor nozzle 44 from whence it flows to the inlet 42 of the shroud 40 as shown by the arrows. When it is desired to use the cleaner with a hose for ofi-the-floor cleaning purposes, the closure member 46 is swung into the open position about its pivot 48 so as to allow a hose to be connected to the inlet 58. Pivotal movement of the closure 45 operates the lever 52 which is connected to pivot along with the closure 48 about the pivot 48. The free end of the lever 52 opzrates the rod 54 which is arranged as shown and which in turn operates the damper 56 and the valve 36 through the operating arms 58 and 88 respectively. Thus, when the closure .member 46 is moved to the open position, the

damper 56 closes-ofi the connection between the floor nozzle 44 and the fan inlet 42 whereby the fan will suck air from the hose (not shown). Opening of the' closure 46 likewise operates the 3-way valve 36 so as to shut-oil the flow of fluid to the motor 22 and direct the fluid from the pump l8 through the line 38 which communicates with the line 28 leading to the fan motor 24.

I have provided an over-center spring arrangement for holding the closure 46 in either of its two positions. This arrangement compriszs a link 62 and a spring 64 both of which have their upper ends secured to the casing l6 and both of which have their lower ends connected to a pin 66 which operates within the slot 68 provided in therod 54 as shown. The over-center spring arrangement disclosed herein is shown primarily for purposes of illustration as any other form of holding means may be used for holding the closure member 46 in either the opened position or the closed position.

The dust laden air leaves the shroud 40 through the outlet 10 which fits into a flexible hose section 12 which has its upper end attached to the elbow 14 secured to the handle bracket 16. The outlet end of the elbow 14 discharges into a removable dust receptacle I8 which is held, in place by any suitable latching means such as the latching means 88. A screen 82 is pivotally supported within the dust receptacle 18 as at 84 and serves to prevent large objects such as hairpins, strings, lint, pieces of paper-and thelike from going up into the main dust bag which has been designated by the ref- The lower end of the handle bracket is pivoted at 90 and is provided with a substan- It will be noted 4 tially arcuate projection for engagement with the handle positioning latch 92. The latch 92 is provided with a notch 94 for engagement with one or more projections such as the projections 98 on the lower end of the bracket 16. The

latch 92 is pivoted to swing about the pivot I88 and is held in latching position by means of a torsion spring I02.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a suction cleaner, a cleaner body having a nozzle at its forward end, a rotary agitator in said nozzle, a fan chamber connected to said nozzle and arranged rearwardly of said nozzle, a fan in said fan chamber having its shaft arranged substantially vertically, a motor having a substantially horizontal shaft disposed within said cleaner body, a closed hydraulic system including a hydraulic pump means operated by said motor, a fluid motor drivingly connected to said fan shaft, and means for supplying fluid from said hydraulic pump means to said fluid motor, a second fluid motor for operating said agitator, and means for supplying fluid from said hydraulic pump means to said second named motor.

2. In a suction cleaner, a cleaner body having a nozzle, a rotary agitator in said nozzle, a fan in said body for creating a suction, a motor for operating said fan and said agitator, disconnecting means for disconnecting said agitator from said motor, and means interlocked with said disconnecting means for increasing the speed of said fan relative 'to the speed of said motor upon disconnection of said agitator.

3. In a suction cleaner, a cleaner body having a nozzle at its forward end, a handle pivotally secured to said body at'its rearward end, a rotary agitator in said nozzle, a fan chamber within said cleaner body adjacent the rear of said body and having an upwardly directed outlet at the rear of said body, a fan in said fan chamber having its shaft arranged substantially vertically, a motor having a substantially horizontal high speed shaft disposed within said cleaner body between said fan and said agitator, hydraulic pump means operated by said motor, a fluid motor drivingly connected to said fan shaft, a fluid motor drivingly connected to said agitator, and means for supply fluid from said hydraulic pump means to said fluid motors, said agitator, fan, high speed motor and pump means all being mounted approximately in thesame generally horizontal plane.

4. In a suction cleaner, a nozzle, an agitator in said nozzle, fan means connected to said nozzle for creating a suction for said nozzle, a prime mover, a closed hydraulic system includinga fluid pump means operated by said prime mover, a first fluid motor in driving engagement with said agitator, a second fluid motor in driving engagement with said fan means, means for directing fluid from said pump means to said first and second fluid motors in parallel circuit arrangement, and means for by-passing fluid around one of said fluid motors and for directing said by-passed fluid to the other of said motors.

5. In a suction cleaner, a nozzle, an agitator in said nozzle, fan means connected to said nozzle for creating a'suction for said nozzle, a prime mover, a closed hydraulic system including first and second fluid pumps operated by said prime mover, a first fluid motor in driving engagement with said agitator, a second fluid motor in driving engagement with said fan means, means for directing fluid from said first pump to said first fluid motor, means for directing fluid from said second pump to said second fluid motor, and means for diverting fluid from said first fluid pump to said second fluid motor whereby fluid from both said pumps may be used for operating said second fluid motor a part of the time.

6. In a suction cleaner, a casing having a nozzle opening at its forward end, an agitator within said casing and disposed adjacent said nozzle opening, a motor, a suction fan having its inlet communicating with said casing, power transmitting means between said motor and said agitator and said fan, said power transmitting means including control means for disengaging said agitator from said motor and simultaneously varying the speed ratio between said motor and said fan.

7. In a suction cleaner, a casing, suction creating means for creating a suction within said casing, an agitator within said casing, a motor, power transmitting means between said motor and said agitator and said suction creating means, said power transmitting means including speed changing and control means for operating said fan at either of two speeds and having means interlocked therewith for disengaging said agitator from said motor when said tan is operating at one of said speeds.

8. In a suction cleaner, a cleaner body having a nozzle and a fan chamber connected to the nozzle, a motor mounted upon said cleaner body, fan means in said fan chamber for drawing fluid from said nozzle, agitating means located in said nozzle, a closed hydraulic system including a multiple element pump having a plurality oi individual pumping chambers with individual outlets driven by said motor, said system including a first hydraulic motor for driving said fan means having its inlet connected to one outlet of said pump, said system including a second hydraulic motor for driving said agitating means having its inlet connected to a second outlet of said pump.

9. In a suction cleaner, a cleaner body having a nozzle and a tan chamber connected to the nozzle, a motor mounted upon said cleaner body, fan means in said Ian chamber for drawing fluid from said nozzle, agitating means located in said nozzle, a closed hydraulic system including a multiple element pump having a plurality of individual pumping chambers with individual outlets driven by said motor, said system including a first hydraulic motor for driving said tan means having its inlet connected to one outlet of said pump,

said system including a second hydraulic motor for driving said agitating means having its inlet connected to a second outlet of said pump, and means for connecting the second outlet of said pump to the inlet of the first hydraulic motor driving the fan for increasing the speed of the fan.

10. In a suction cleaner, a cleaner body having a nozzle and a fan chamber connected to the nozzle, a motor mounted upon said cleaner body, fan means in said fan chamber for drawing fluid from said nozzle, agitating means located in said nozzle, a closed hydraulic system including a multiple element pump having a plurality of individual pumping chambers with individual outlets driven by said motor, said system including a flrst hydraulic motor for driving said fan means having its inlet connected to one outlet of said pump, said system including a second hydraulic motor for driving said agitating means having its inlet connected to a second outlet of said pump, a three-way valve in the connection between the second outlet and the inlet of said second hydraulic motor, a hydraulic connection between said three-way valve and the inlet of the first hydraulic motor for diverting the output from the second outlet to the first hydraulic motor.

DONALD H. REEVES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

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